October 07, 2013

Sierra & Tierra: Sometimes, Everything That Glitters is Indeed Gold

When it comes to the sun, for Rosa Mayorga and her family, everything that glitters is indeed gold.

A few months ago, this Irvine, California, resident had solar panels installed on her rooftop, and ever since then, the sun shines on her home with special intensity.

“This is fabulous. Since I had them installed, we pay half of what we used to for our electricity,” she proudly says. “Now we can use that money for things we could not afford before.”

Mrs. Mayorga is one of the beneficiaries of the tremendous growth solar energy has experienced in California, whose assistance and development programs are the standard for the rest of the nation.

Rooftop solar panel installation in California (Photo: Sierra Club)

The system works as follows: For a down payment of zero dollars, a leasing company installs the panels on your rooftop and provides an exact assessment of much your monthly bill will be for a 20-year period, which will be substantially lower than what the utility charges. Each solar company offers a variety of plans for their clients. But they all result in significant savings in your energy bill.

But a dark cloud called corporate greed is threatening this bright situation. The big utilities consider the expansion of solar energy generated by their clients as a threat to their business model, which traditionally has relied on dirty, inefficient energy projects, such as gas, coal and nukes.

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